1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to control of two-phase flow in electrolytic cells for production of oxidants.
2. Background Art
Note that the following discussion refers to a number of publications and references. Discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background of the scientific principles and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.
Electrolytic technology utilizing dimensionally stable anodes (DSA) has been used for years for the production of chlorine and other mixed-oxidant solutions. Dimensionally stable anodes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,110 to Beer, entitled “Electrode and Method of Making Same,” whereby a noble metal coating is applied over a titanium substrate.
An example of an electrolytic cell with membranes is described in U.S. Pat. No. RE 32,077 to deNora et al., entitled “Electrode Cell with Membrane and Method for Making Same,” whereby a circular dimensionally stable anode is utilized with a membrane wrapped around the anode, and a cathode concentrically located around the anode/membrane assembly.
An electrolytic cell with dimensionally stable anodes without membranes is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,208 to Gram, et al., entitled “Electrolytic Method and Cell for Sterilizing Water.”
Commercial electrolytic cells have been used routinely for oxidant production that utilize a flow-through configuration that may or may not be under pressure that is adequate to create flow through the electrolytic device. Examples of cells of this configuration are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,523 to Prasnikar et al., entitled “Electrode and Electrolytic Cell Containing Same,” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,711 to Baker et al., entitled “Electrolytic Cell for Generating Sterilization Solutions Having Increased Ozone Content”.
Research conducted by T. Sasaki, et al, entitled “Particle Image Velocimetry Measurement of Bubbly Flow Induced by Alkaline Water Electrolysis” (in Proceedings of PSFVIP-4, Jun. 3-5, 2003, Chamonix, France), describes gas generation in electrolytic cells. This research discusses the effect of hydrogen gas formation between an anode and cathode electrode and the impact of gas bubble formation on the conductivity and efficiency of oxidant generation from the electrolyte feed solution.